Arrian braces himself for combat realizing the jerky isn't going to placate these canids.
Alicia takes exact notes, and tries to repeat the phrase
But says something like "Iron supplements are great for curing your carpal tunnel syndrome!" insteadThere is an actual reason to be learning Thassilonian though, since nearly nobody speaks it, it can be a good base for coded communications. There are a bunch of ways to get around it, like, comprehend language spells etc., but if you actually speak it, you can use a contextual cypher or a simple substitution cypher on top of it being Thassilonian and you have something thats is kind of hard to crack.
Substitution Cyphers being something like... replacing all letters in an alphabet with the letter 2 letters after them.
She pauses thinking for a moment
nkmg vjku, she says in simple common code.they are very easy to break because in common, the frequence of individual leters in normal language is well known, and if you have a long enough text you can break it this way. But if you stack that on an unknown language, comprehend language doesnt tell you what the actual alphabetical order of a languages alphabet is, so unless the guy trying to break your code actually learns the language "normally" such a relatively simple combination can work quite well, even against some magic codebreaking. She pauses
Ah crap, am I giving unprompted lectures in Cryptography, while in a dungeon, to relative strangers, again? She says with a self deprecating chuckle
"How are you pronouncing that without consonants?" Donimah wonders aloud.
Setting their new companion's "eccentricities" aside for now, she follows after the group once again, and as they discover and discuss the "dogs" her eyes widen and her grip on her whaling spear tightens.
Not more than a moment later, she hears that all-too-familiar howl.
"No notagain!" she cries with a gasp. "NotagainNOTAGAIN"
Even knowing the fear is unnatural, her body refuses to cooperate, instead turning and bolting once again in sheer, primal panic. Anything...ANYTHING to get away from the source of that howl.
Juriya readies an action to launch a bomb at the dog when it comes into sight.
Two dogs whoosh in from the door. Weirdly, they do not touch the ground as they do so. Upon a double take, you realize that they are, indeed, flying.
Despite their canine look, they are deeply disturbing to look at. It is clear these are not natural animals.
One of the hellish dogs stops and snaps at Alicia. The other flies over the group and, upon seeing that they are bravely defying them, it opens its mouth and lets out a howl, one that you are too familiar with. Alicia feels the supernatural attack on her mind, but her divine power holds it at bay.
As well defended as Alicia is, the dog bypasses her defenses and bites her leg. As it does so, it pulls the paladin's leg strong, making her go nearly upside down.
You will regret that pup!
Alicia growls as she is on the ground, dropping her jerky.
Alica stands up, due to her stagger proof boots, this does not provoke
Blyad she curses in Abyssal, a word that, in that language can mean anything from "s$%!" to "f!+&" to "excalamation mark" or even "screwdriver", as her bite misses.
Ethan turns to face the fleeing Donimah and calls upon Erastil's favor.
"Dead-Eye give you the courage to stand against your foes!"
Arrian steels his nerves versus yet another dread howl and then advances on the beast trying to pursue Donimah.
She swears she can hear her mother’s horrid words in that howl…then Nualia’s…it makes the catfolk shake…but the fear slowly ebs away…
Her spots explode in the light blue energy, and she gives chase towards the yeth hound chasing Donimah.
Juriya stands her ground, miraculously, as she rips into the flesh of the hound with both rapier and her own jaws. "I'm not running from you,damn it!"
How does it taste? Please say better then it looks!
Alicia pips in an Juriyas aggressive display
Donimah stops short as she feels a reassuring presence in her mind, like her father embracing her as a child, his arms strong and warm.
She hears the sounds of battle behind her and turns back.
Juriya stands her ground, miraculously, as she rips into the flesh of the hound with both rapier and her own jaws. "I'm not running from you,damn it!"
"NOR AM I!" Donimah declares as she returns to group.
She focuses her power and chants an incantation, her tattoos glowing golden as she takes the respite Ethan has granted her mind and fortifies it further.
Then she points down the hallway at the hound that frightened her, and a line of sickly, greenish-gold light hisses through the air towards it!
Ano's rapier goes into the dog. As reckless and powerful that her attack was, she feels she should have gotten.
The same applies to Juriya's attack.
Donimah's spell is well aimed, but in the melee, the dog moves away just in time by accident.
Alicia's bite doesn't bypass its thick skin.
The dogs continue their attacks. The one with Alicia continues attacking her, while the other one turns to face Arrian and attempts to bite him.
The dog manages to bite Alicia again. It would have been more serious but her armor protects her. It attempts to trip her again but fails. Arrian's defense is solid as well.
Donimah focuses on the respite Ethan gave her mind, fortifying it with arcane power of her own.
"Stagfather, grant these heroes the power to strike down your foes!"
BAD DOG
Alicia growls as she full attacks her canine foe
Alicias scimitar likely strikes true,
she then touches herself with her shield hand, healing a fair bit of her received damage.
Arrian moves a bit to flank the yeth hound. He calls upon the power of Cayden Cailean to guide his efforts in battle by calling for his Judgement upon such evil and makes a fierce stab at the beast!
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Ethan's spell proves useful as it enchants Alicia's weapon to cut into the dog's skin. Surprised, it whines and falls to the ground, dead.
Meanwhile, Arrian moves strategically to flank the other flying dog with Ano and strikes it strongly. It yelps, but is still up.
Who put the dog down? Yeah, me! Thanks Ethan!
Alicia beams as he foe goes down.
Надо было
взять вяленое мясо, глупые собаки!
She growls in Abyssal at the remaining Canine
Should have taken the jerky, foolish dogs!
Juriya steps forward and looses her prepared bolt as she gets near the range needed to engage in melee. She doubts it will do much. It missses and pings off the wall, so suffice to say, it wouldn't have done much.
Getting pissed that her initial attack didn't go through as well, this time the amurrun tries to skewer the yeth hound through the throat.
With Ethan's magic, Ano's rapier penetrates the dog til it gets to its heart. It falls on the ground, dead.
Hah! Victory!
Alicia offer a quick prayer
Oh Lady Kelinahat, with mild amusement I inform thee that we have heroically scouted 2 yeth hounds. They are now irrelevant and most permanently neutralized, as they should be. Continuing to scout the evil dungeon.
That prayer while it may sound heterodox is to an extent how her clergy pray, in form of intelligence reports, often humorous ones if the one who prays is not in any actual danger or need of support, so that prayers needing immidiate responses, and which would likely be very earnest, get assessed quickest.
Great Stabbing Ano! She offers a pretty big... Sis-fist I guess? to Ano
And dont sweat panicking on account of a magical effect, running is only bad if it was a) intentional and b) disorganized rather then as a tactical retreat Dominah!
"Is everyone alright? Is anyone in need of healing?" Ethan asks.
Some minor damage, nothing too serious, I would rather keep my power to lay on hands for emergencies.
I can also channel positive energy myself, probably not as good as you though Ethan
Juriya holds up the labeled CLW extract. "No healing needed yet. I'll probably only have the one prepared, the other one is incase I need to sneak harder or something. "
"Wow those were some hits! I'm not injured thanks to the hounds being dispatched so quickly."
Ano whirls back and hisses at whatever comes next...but seeing it's just Alicia, the catfolk backs off, and her arcane energy fizzles out, causing her to stumble to her rear end.
Ethan places a hand on Alicia's shoulder and speaks a prayer. "May Dead-Eye reward your valor by binding your wounds."
He then moves to Ano and places a hand on her shoulder, and speaks another prayer. "May the Stagfather reward your courage with renewed vigor."
Arrian stretches his hand out to Ano to help her back onto her feet.
"Where to next?"
Ano offers Arrian's hand and sits herself back up, thanking him and Ethan.
"Guess the only place to go next is down?"
Hah! Victory!
Alicia offer a quick prayer
Oh Lady Kelinahat, with mild amusement I inform thee that we have heroically scouted 2 yeth hounds. They are now irrelevant and most permanently neutralized, as they should be. Continuing to scout the evil dungeon.
Great Stabbing Ano! She offers a pretty big... Sis-fist I guess? to Ano
And dont sweat panicking on account of a magical effect, running is only bad if it was a) intentional and b) disorganized rather then as a tactical retreat Dominah!
Donimah smooths her robe and thumps the butt of her whaling spear on the floor as if to signal her recovered composure.
"Um...so let it be," she says, punctuating Alicia's prayer. This cambion was an odd one, to be sure. "Though your reassurance would be more comforting had this been the first time I experienced such in so many days. I must shore up my mental defenses if I am to endure in the exploration of Thassilon's deeper mysteries...and to aid and protect each of you...Spirits know you cannot come running to my rescue all the time."
I could also prepare remove fear, but I currently havent. I have one heroic defiance, which, if I have any lay on hands left, lets me not go unconcious when I should be knocked down, and a bless weapon, which is like Ethans weapons against evil, but it only applies to one weapon although a bit more so.
She pauses
Experientia omnia meliorat She says in celestial
Experience improves everything! she adds in common.
The most certain way of improving your mental defenses is surviving more crazy situations, at least thats how it worked for me!
Alicia is ready to explore further.
Not having anything to add to the conversation, Ethan nods in acknowledgement of Ano's remark. "Down, then. I'm ready."
Before the group of heroes goes further down, they take a quick look at the room where the dogs were. Stone fonts containing frothy dark water sit to the north and south of the eastern entrance to the room, and twin banks of stone pillars run the length of the long chamber. At the western end, shallow stairs rise to a platform about two feet off the ground. The walls surrounding this platform are lit by hanging braziers that emit glowing red smoke, giving the place an unnerving crimson lighting that throws the bas-relief carvings of countless monsters feasting on fleeing humans into lurid display. A black marble altar stone, its surface heaped with ashes and bone fragments, squats before a ten-foot-tall statue. The sculpture depicts a very pregnant but otherwise shapely naked woman who wields a kukri in each taloned hand and has a long reptilian tail, birdlike taloned feet, and the snarling head of a three-eyed jackal with a forked tongue. The left kukri flickers with fiery orange light while the right one glows with a cold blue radiance.
This temple and statue are sacred to Lamashtu.
The glowing effects on the statue’s kukris are continual flame spells.
On the platform altar there are smears of ash and bits of bone.
These are human bones.
To go down, the quickest way is through the ominous double doors that were locked. The group finds the key in the keyhole, so it's easy to open from this side. They walk north up to the meeting room with the plans to invade Sandpoint and then through the secret passage beyond the storage room. The way is completely free, it doesn't seem that anyone was here since the fight yesterday. Even the bodies from the fight are still here.
Ethan and Alicia notice that there is the body of a hobgoblin sliced in half and a goblin next to a saddled giant gecko.
You notice that Orik has been seen around Sandpoint since you've arrived. Given how after your original encounter he seemed all too eager to disappear in the wind, it strikes you as odd that suddenly he wants to stick around.
Going down into the complex, the group expects to feel stuffed air and cold. Instead, the temperature is comfortable at 15 degrees C (60 F), the air is fresh and cozy. Lighting is provided by a few lanterns on the floor. The oddest thing about this level is that it isn't... level. It is sloped towards the west (the west side is lower and east is higher).
There is a faint transmutation aura in this entire level.
You once read a novel about monks fighting with flaming swords. At one time, at a critical moment, a monk master told his rebelling apprentice "It's over, Guchiguchi. I have the high ground."
To which the apprentice said "You underestimate my power."
The master replied with "Don't try it."
Then the master proceeds by cutting down his apprentice with his flaming sword dramatically. This is an important lesson in fighting tactics, having the high ground. In this case, standing east in combat would qualify as high ground.
A stone door just around the corner from the steps hangs slightly ajar, the detailed carvings that once covered its surface defaced by chisel marks and hammer blows to the extent that only a few remnants of images (mostly of gemstones and crowns) remain.
Beyond the door, two pillars support the ceiling in this room. In many places the stone walls, floor, and ceiling are caked with ancient grime and soot. Alcoves in the north and south walls contain partially damaged statues of a man in robes clutching a book and a glaive. The entire room is canted toward the west, and whatever ancient upheaval caused the complex to tilt knocked the statues from their bases so that now they lean against the western walls of their alcoves.
Arrian checks for the presence of magic and points out any to those who are more skilled at identifying it.
"The bits of bone on the altar are human."
To Ano, Juriya, and Donimah he'll say, "Remember how eager Orik was to 'get out of town'? Doesn't it seem odd he's been seen around Sandpoint and hasn't left? We might need to keep an eye on him; I don't trust him."
After noticing the oddity of the 'level' Arrian again checks for magic and detects the presence of it, again pointing it out to those who might be able to glean more information.
"It's a shrine dedicated to Lamashtu," Ethan says. His tone indicates a sadness that such a faith exists and has dedicated followers. He reaches for his holy symbol, and invokes Erastil's power.
"Stagfather, remove the stain of the Mother of Monsters' desecration."
[dice=Knowledge, Religion]1d20+8
"It's a shrine dedicated to Lamashtu," Ethan says. His tone indicates a sadness that such a faith exists and has dedicated followers. He reaches for his holy symbol, and invokes Erastil's power.
"Stagfather, remove the stain of the Mother of Monsters' desecration."
"Since it was a pregnant woman that's what I thought but she wasn't much of an area of study for me."
"I agree, and confirm everything. Human bones, Lamashtu shrine... doesn't add up to anything good. We should stand east, that'd qualify as high ground for tactics I'm pretty sure."
Baphomets vile mistress and mother Alicia nods with a deep frown
Human bones you say? Almost certainly an unwilling sacrifice.
Oh Light in the dark, take this victim of vile ruin into your embrace, and lead his or her soul to its proper place.
Alicia prays as she removes the bones from the altar, handling them carefully, quickly cleaning them and then putting them into her backpack likely to properly bury them in Pharasman ground later.
Empty night, these could have been my bones She thinks
But they are not mine, and I will avenge whoever was sacrificed here
Alicias eyes flare blue as she stares at the statue useing detect evil, and showing the statue her middle finger.
Before breaking into a song, seeking to assist Ethans efforts at consecrating the area and dispelling the evil, singing in Abyssal to make absolutely sure that the evil here understands her intend fully.
На севере гром
План Ламаштуса обречен
Опьянённые войной
Решив, что будет лёгкий бой
Демоны выпустили газ
Сотни душ прибрав за раз
Но увидели враги
Как вдруг восстали мертвецы!
Их всех рвёт, знав исход, они шли вперёд!
Саркорис, смерть, трупы, яд.
В атаку шёл мёртвый отряд
Они шли, чтоб победить
Что мертво, то уже не убить!
Саркорис, смерть, трупы, яд.
В атаку шёл мёртвый отряд
Они шли, чтоб победить
Что мертво, то уже не убить!
There is thunder in the north
Lamashtus plan is not allowed
Drunken that she is of war
she thinks it will be a quick fight
the demons use their poisoned gas
reaping hundred souls en masse
but then the enemy does see
that our fallen do not kneel
they all puke, know the outcome
but they do strike forth
Sarkoris, death, bodies, hell
the charge of the dying troop
they charge in, once more to win
he who is dead
cant be slain
Sarkoris, death, bodies, hell
the charge of the dying troop
they charge in, crossing the plain
he who is dead
cant be slain